Mirror, Mirror
by ButterflyMiko
Summary: As Noah's Ark Circus comes to town, it seems to be run by a strange woman obsessed with dreams. Four female friends of Ciel's disappear, only to reappear on her side. Ciel falls to a mysterious illness. The only one with the key to all this, is a Lady that is shrouded in mystery herself.
1. First Rate Cookies

Four girls, Lizzie, Mey-Rin, Sieglinde and Doll were all having the same dream. They were running through the lush jungles of the Amazon. Lizzie fell down and started to cry. The other girls stopped and helped her back up. Then, they saw something glittering in a nearby pond. The girls went into the pond and walked up to it. It was a beautiful mirror. They picked it out of the sand. A woman spoke to them from inside the mirror.

The woman had long dark hair to her feet. Her eyes were the blue of the night sky. Her skin was pale moonlight. Her dress was like starlight.

The girls were amazed at the talking mirror.

"I wonder if it's a magic mirror!" Doll exclaimed.

"Yes, I can use magic," the woman told them. "I am called Madame Bandiane."

The girls were delighted.

"Thank you for waking me up," Bandiane said. "As a symbol of my gratitude, I want to give you these." Four billiard balls, the Dream Stones, appeared before them. "With the Dream Stones, you can use magic too and you can be children forever."

Xxx

One day near the end of December, Ciel was in the kitchen with Sebastian baking cookies. Everyone was amazed at Sebastian as he used the bottom of a glass to push down balls of cookie dough to make each cookie a perfect circle. Suddenly, the cuckoo clock chimed and the bird came out of the clock.

"Oh! The 3 o'clock fairy already?" Finny said.

"The 3 o'clock fairy?" Bardroy asked.

"My mother made cakes for me when I was little," Ciel explained. "Once when I asked her why she made cakes at 3:00 and she said, "That's because of the 3 o'clock fairy! At 3 o'clock, the fairies come to tell every mother to make sweet snacks for their children. I didn't really know when she meant so I thought the bird that came out of the cuckoo clock was the fairy."

Ciel took out the cookies.

"Young master your cookies!" Sebastian said.

Everyone laughed, except for Ciel.

Ciel yelled back, "Shut up! My cookies can beat yours by their superb taste! They are special enough so that one bite makes you energetic and powerful hundreds of times over!"

Everyone crowded around Ciel's cookies, which tasted really good despite how they looked.

Xxx

Ciel was standing outside the bakery looking inside while Sebastian made the purchase. On the way, he spotted a girl looking into a window of a bakery.

She was wearing a blue silken floofy dress with ribbons. Her hair was done up nicely and she was clearly a lady.

Ciel thought she was very suspicious-looking. He stood next to her and started to stare at her from different directions. She smiled at him and he frowned back.

"What are you doing here? Are you waiting for someone?" Ciel asked.

"I'm watching the children come out of the store, they look so happy," Kuri said.

Ciel smiled. "That's because this is a sweet snack store."

"Yeah, this city is really nice! Every mother looks really gentle." Kuri said.

"Yes. The mothers do." Ciel said.

Kuri laughed, "You are funny. This is a great city! Even the snacks even look happy!"

Ciel peered into the window. "You know how they feel?"

"Look! They almost start dancing to make children happy." Kuri said

"To me, they just look delicious." Ciel commented.

Kuri began to play her flute and several cookies formed a dancing figure. Ciel was shocked. When she stopped playing, the cookies returned to normal. Kuri quickly faced Ciel and stuck out her hand. "I am Kuri!"

Ciel looked at her hand in surprise but then shook it and said, "My name is Ciel."

Ciel and Kuri walked to the end of the street together. Ciel handed his cookies to Kuri.

"What are they?" She asked.

"They are my homemade cookies," he replied. Kuri stared at them for awhile. "Even though they don't look beautiful, my cookies will win with their superb taste. They are so special that one bite will make you more energetic and powerful hundreds of times over."

"Can I keep them?" Kuri asked.

Ciel nodded and Kuri was very happy.

Kuri said, "Good-bye!" and waved to him as she left.

Ciel happily waved back.

Suddenly the two looked into the sky. A flying craft with spotted sails appears in the air. Voices call out from it.

Standing on the craft were the missing women: Mey-Rin, Lizzie, Sieglinde, and Doll.

"Come on! Come on! The circus is here!"

"The city of lights, filled with beautiful dreams!"

"The land we've longed for! We've been waiting and waiting for this time!"

"The arrival of our Noah's Ark Circus!"

The craft vanished.


	2. Illusion

Hey!" Ciel said. "What the-!? From inside the eclipse... A ship!? They were singing! The Noah's Ark Circus!"

"Sure looks that way," said Sebastian. "A grove, a woman, a ship flying through the sky... And that song, too. Is this a daydream?"

The pain struck Ciel again. _"It's not a dream,"_ he thought. _"I feel an ominous foreboding..."_

Kuri had also seen Noah's Ark Circus. Suddenly, two crows swooped down toher. They dropped a card and a newspaper with an article on the eclipse on the ground.

"The tarot card for the moon," Kuri said. "It foretells anxiety, and bad things to come. The cursed solar eclipse, once in a millennium... Is that what you want to say? I feel an ominous foreboding... The scent of evil... Let's go to the Park!"

"I'm worried about Ciel and the others!" Kuri ran toward the park. _"The foreboding of a new enemy...!"_ Kuri thought.

Back at the park, Ciel decided to go to the Juuban shopping center and kill some time. As Ciel reached the shopping center, he saw a large banner hanging above them.

"Circus arrival blowout sale!?" Ciel read. He picked up a flyer. "'A huge circus from the exotic regions of the Amazon! The mysterious Noah's Ark Circus! They travel the world and have finally come here!'"

Ciel heard a song.

"Filled with beautiful dreams... We're the Noah! Noah! Noah's Ark! Circus..."

"That song!" said Ciel. "Is that the circus song!? Is it carrying all through London?"

A woman was working at a stand. "Hello hello!" she says. "The circus is coming next month! If you get a stamp from the shopping center now, you get S-row tickets! There's a big sale until the last day of the circus!"

"It's like a festival." Ciel said. "A glass sword..."

Sebastian read the flyer. "'Grand opening at Mamiana Sakaue Park!'"

_"The Noah's Ark Circus?"_ he thought. _"All of a sudden...?"_

Ciel purchased the glass sword.

Xxx

It was now night time and Ciel was going to bed.

"Can't you sleep young master?" Sebastian asked.

"Hey..." said Ciel. "Tell me a story. When I was little, mom would often sit by my bed and tell me stories until I fell asleep."

"What kind of stories?"

"Stories of sunken empires in the sea, or the mysteries of the pyramids, or cursed diamonds. Stories of robots, and vampires, and mirrors."

"Stories of mirrors?" asked Sebastian, mildly entertained.

"Well, on the other side of a mirror, another, pitch-black world exists. So on pitch-black nights, of new moons, you can't look into a mirror. Otherwise, you'll be drawn into the world inside it. It's an old European legend."

Ciel looks across the room at a mirror, and saw it was black. He turned over in bed. "Good night."

Xxx

An old woman stood inside the circus top.

Mey-Rin, Lizzie, Sieglinde, and Doll stood in front of her, dressed in circus clothes.

"The Noah's Ark Circus Dreamers." The old woman said. "You will fight and spread our nightmare everywhere."

"I will seal the doorway." Sieglinde said.

Xxx

"_Ciel..."_

_Ciel was lying in a field of flowers. He looked up and it was the girl from the bakery, Kuri._

_She reached out her hands and they lifted into the air over London._

"_Why is that part of the city black?" Ciel asked her._

"_That is where nightmares dwell." Kuri replied. "That is where the Black Dream Hole is being kept. More children fall victim every day to Queen Bandiane's spell in the Noah's Ark Circus."_

_"Who... are you?" Ciel asked._

"_I am the Guardian of Otherworld." Kuri replied. "You may call me Kaguya. I need your help, as an emissary of darkness, the Queen's Watchdog, only you are able to destroy the nightmare." _

_Ciel saw his parents._

_"Father? Mother?"_

_Kuri started to fade away._

"_Kaguya?" _

Xxx

Ciel crashed to the floor in HIS room. He opened his eyes. "...A dream?"

"Are you all right, Young Master?" asked Sebastian.

He saw the glass sword beside him.

"It wasn't a dream..." He got dressed and left.

Xxx

Ciel sat in the park alone, holding the strange sword and looking confused.

A crowd began to gather as a tiger escaped from the circus.

Ciel grabbed his chest. "Again! It hurts like there's a thorn stuck in me! What's happening!"

The tiger ran through the street.

The sword glowed like crystal.

"The sword..."

"Now that crystal sword is beginning to carry spirit, with your strong thoughts and power," Kaguya said. "That had a strong link to you from the beginning."

"I am the Sword Joyeuse," says one. "The Sword of Earth, proclaimer of Kings."

"The sword has will!?" Ciel said.

He felt his body move in battle, attacking the tiger. "Orbis Excutite!"

The tiger calmed, and retreated into the circus.

Ciel collapsed, and Sebastian caught him.

"Young Master!"

Xxx

"The celestial maiden is trying to out wit me." Queen Bandiane snapped. "Tell me, how are the Dream Coffins coming?"

"We have many children imprisoned and feeding our...operation." Doll said.

Lizzie could not hold out any longer. "When will I get to see him, my Queen?"

"Be patient, little lady." Bandiane said. "We need more children before the successor can be awakened from his slumber, and the nightmare can be completed. In the meantime...find that celestial maiden and continue the poison of her chosen warrior! We must eradicate all falsehoods!"


	3. Maid in Heaven

Princess Kaguya floated over the water in a clearing in the woods. _"My Warrior... I've finally found you,"_ she thought. _"I can't breathe... Something is stuffing up my chest..."_

"Young Master!"

Ciel opened his eyes and saw Sebastian staring down at him.

"Sebastian..." he said.

"You are alright." said Sebastian.

Ciel went into another room to see the doctor.

"A lung shadow?" he said.

The doctor paused. "Yes, well... It's a little unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it. The infection... I guess you could call it a shadow. Anyway, this is the first case of it. Has this happened to you often before? I'd like to examine you a little more in-depth. When can you come again?"

"Oh, well... I'll see when I can take a day off from school. I'll make an appointment with the front desk." He went out into the hall. _"A lung shadow...?"_ he thought.

Sebastian went up to him. "How did it go?"

"It's nothing serious," he lied, and went to sleep.

Xxx

"_I can't believe they have gotten to you already." Princess Kaguya said._

"_Gotten to me?" Ciel said. "You know something about my illness?"_

"_It is the result of the evil that is in this land." Kaguya said. "This is their doing."_

"_Who are they?" Ciel said. "How can I help you?"_

"_I cannot say now." Kaguya said. "Warrior I need your power."_

_A large cage appeared around her._

_"You have the key to save me, to save everything. You have the beautiful dream. You're protected, my Warrior. You can protect me." Kaguya faded away._

Xxx

"Kaguya!?" Ciel called. "Is that the warrior Kaguya is looking for? Is that really... me?"

"Young Master, are you alright?" Sebastian said.

"That circus... The Dead Moon Circus. They're surely targeting this city. We must act at once." Ciel said.

Ciel smiled. Then he suddenly doubled over.

"Young Master!"

"I'm okay," he said. "I'll rest a little." He lay down in bed.

Xxx

_Kaguya emerged from the black mirror in Ciel's room. "Ciel... Please forgive me. I didn't come to the defense of this world. Not just this world, but your body too... Please search for it. The...Shikon no Tama. My Warrior." She faded away._

_Ciel opened his eyes and sat up. "A dream...?"_

Xxx

Mey-Rin was in her room in Phantomhive Manor. She was trying to solve the problem of the Dead Moon Circus and had found a forcefield enveloping the Juuban shopping center. She recalled advice Sebastian gave her, telling her she was everybody's eyes.

Finny arrived back in the manor from his days work.

"I'm sorry, Mey Rin." Finny said. "I'm not home very much am I?"

"It's alright. I work very hard too." Bard Roy said.

Mey Rin remembered how hard she used to work to protect the Phantomhives.

At this moment, Zirconia orders Fish Eye to locate someone with a beautiful dream that protected the Warrior. An image of Mey Rin appears in the mirror.

Mey Rin walked outside in the rain to the circus. She then sees a fish store there and entered it.

Mey Rin looked at the fish. "I feel like I'm in the water."

"You look like you're happy," said the sales girl. "I feel people long for the water. It's evidence of their built-up stress. A sign of their frustration."

"So this is where you work." Mey Rin said. "I'll buy a fish."

Mey Rin returned home and stared at the fish in its tank.

She sat up later. "Finny?"

Mey Rin saw her friend with a woman. They were talking and laughing.

"Mey Rin doesn't have any hobbies besides working." Finny said. "She's not really my friend at all."

Mey Rin turned to the mirror in her room.

She saw herself talking to Bard Roy.

"Don't come any closer, Mey Rin." Bard said. "I'm tired. Because of you. With no interest in anything but work I want to get as far from you as possible."

She saw Ciel with his family. They were all happy and smiling.

"Young Master!" Mey Rin called.

"When I am with my family," Ciel said. "even like this, we're so happy! We don't need anyone else!"

The fish from the tank grew into Fish Eye. "Hey," he said. "You don't need to take this. Were you jealous of them? Tell me your real thoughts."

"Yes," said Mey Rin. "I've been so lonely... My dream is to be loved by someone, anyone..."

The mirror shows an image of Fish Eye kissing Mey Rin.

"NO! It's a lie! It's wrong! Help me Finny, Bard Roy! No, that's not you! Come on, Mey Rin! This is a hallucination!" She runs out on the balcony, where she was attacked by lemures. "Monsters!? Inside the Manor!? Have to call Sebastian..."

She falls through a giant mirror into a vortex.

"This is the nightmare of the imp lemures."

Mey Rin floated through the space.

"You have no self confidence, Mey Rin. You can only depend on others."

Her eyes closed and she fell slowly down through the water.

"NO! Don't listen! Come to me! Warrior!"

She opened her eyes and saw the Princess Kaguya far below, in her cage.

"I am the Guardian of the Underworld. I am Princess Kaguya. And you are one of my Warriors."

"You mustn't fall prey to this nightmare, remember your true dream."

"My true dream...? Oh... Yes. I have lots of people who love me. I want to love those people more. I want to protect them. For that purpose, I work hard. And, my dream... It's to become an good soldier, and protect everyone. Because that is my mission!"

Mey Rin leapt out of the water, a heart shape glowing on her chest. A gun appeared.

"I am KinGan!"

Mey Rin fired the gun and blasted away, and the mirror, lemures and all break and crash and disappear. The woman who was holding Finny disappeared and Finny collapsed. Sebastian and Ciel ran into the room.

"Are you alright Mey Rin?" Sebastian said.

Ciel used the Aether Sword, and Fish Eye was destroyed.

"Mey Rin!" Ciel said. "I see you've met the Underworld Guardian."

"Yes...but it is strange that she chose someone like you."

Ciel tried not to be offended.

Kaguya appeared. "My Warriors."

"Kaguya, you are wrong!" Ciel said.. "The one your searching for is not me!"

"The one she's searching for?" asked Mey Rin.

"The warrior I'm searching for carries the beautiful dream," Kaguya said. "This person is a protected soldier. And this person can break the seal on the Shikon. The chosen warrior."

"Protected?" Mey Rin says. "A soldier? The Shikon?"

"Yes," said Ciel. "The moment I heard Kaguya say that, I knew."

"Then," said Mey Rin, "the person is... Me?"

"So, you are my warrior," said Kaguya.

_"The person Kaguya is searching for isn't me..."_ Ciel thinks. _"The one she needs isn't me..." _

Ciel was hurt, and left.

"Young Master!?" Mey Rin called.

Kaguya faded away.

"Kaguya!?"


	4. Aether

Ciel ran through the streets, tears streaming from his eyes. "Oh... I ran away... I was scared... Even though nothing's changed. I'm so stupid. I knew it, but..."

"It was Mey Rin all along. The person she was searching for... wasn't me... I'm hurt."

_"Warrior."_

"She flattered me by calling me that..."

_"Lend me your strength..." _she said. _"Please, call me..."_

"I thought maybe even I could do something."

_"You have the beautiful dream,"_ she said. _"You're protected by the light of the moon. My warrior. You are the chosen warrior."_

"But I wasn't after all. This me, with no power..." The small bells rang. Kaguya appeared.

"Kaguya..." Ciel said. "I wonder if, someday, the time will come when I'm needed too... When I'll become a fine warrior... I wonder if, someday, my dream will come true..."

Xxx

Sebastian, Mey-Rin, Finny, and Bardroy looked around.

"Young Master!?" Sebastian said. "It's starting to pour! Let's go search!"

"Young Master!" Mey Rin called.

Xxx

Ciel buried his face in his hands.

Kaguya leaned down and kissed him.

"Don't cry, my warrior," she said. "Everyone is worried and looking for you. Around you, the path is filled with love. In this body, I'm limited to this. My Warrior. I will come to see you again. So don't cry." She faded away.

XXX

"Young Master!" Sebastian called. "Yes!" He looked down at him. "You'll catch cold. Let's go."

Ciel's mouth hung open.

"Young Master?"

"Where's Kaguya?" He asked.

"She disappeared right after that," said Mey Rin. "We couldn't talk to him."

_"Kaguya?"_ Ciel thought, touching his lips. _"Just now, was that Kaguya...?"_

Xxx

The young woman floated to the floor, where she lay as she was inside a golden cage.

"Oh..." said Bandiane. "Your escaping from my curse was quite something. But you and this land are already mine. Soon the surface too, and everything will be mine. Your selfish imitation won't be permitted. Heh heh heh."

"You can enslave this land, and this body," said Kaguya, "but you can't rule my spirit yet! You and your minions will surely be wiped out by my Warrior!"

"Impudent!" A blast struck her in the chest, and she collapsed on the floor.

_"Unless I find the Shikon soon..."_ Kaguya thought. _"Unless I return this land to normal... The entire planet will be..."_

_Xxx_

"The Otherworld must be contaminated by darkness." Bandiane said. "But there is light still in the Otherworld, coming from the Shikon."

"The light comes from that hateful Princess Kaguya." Zia said. "Only she can wield the power of the Shikon. She will depend on her human form on earth, her avatar—her priestess."

"I AM THE ONE WHO WILL WIELD THE SHIKON!" Bandiane screamed. "She is the lesser one! I will destroy her!"

Xxx

Lizzie was practicing her fencing in the training room.

"Why are you practicing so hard, sister?" Edward asked. "Your sword...it seems to be faltering today."

"Ciel." Lizzie said. "He can't do this alone. These are hard times in this world, and I have to be the one to protect him."

Lizzie headed outside to resume training, wondering what she would do when she got older. She wanted to be cute, and also strong.

Lizzie remembered a strange dream she'd had, then a sword dropped to the ground. She picked it up. She recalled the words of her brother who said her sword was faltering. She grabbed the sword and threw it high into the air.

Ciel watched them, wondering if he too was one of Kaguya's warriors.

Xxx

The next day balloons flew in the air as people wander around the grounds of the Dead Moon Circus.

"Come on Sebastian, we have to investigate this place." Ciel said.

"That's right." Sebastian said. "Even I fill childish in a place like this."

Lizzie turned, hearing a voice, and didn't see anyone, but saw a Mirror House. The crowd pushed her in and the doors slammed shut behind him.

Lizzie looked into a mirror and saw her past: in training.

"Elizabeth." Young Lizzie looked at her. "You have devoted your life to Ciel Phantomhive. Even when you did not agree with him, you did as he wanted. What sort of life is that? To always be a servant? Didn't you have anything precious to you?"

The mirror flashed, revealing things she had forgotten. Being turned into a doll. Being captured by the Blue Cult.

"Stop it! I will never betray Ciel!" Lizzie said.

The Ciel in the mirror turned to two, and one took the mirror Lizzie's hand.

"Now you're thinking of your own happiness," the young Lizzie said. "Listen to all I have to say. You have to make friends. Yes, for example, I'm getting this wonderful man."

The young Lizzie reaches up and kisses the mirror Ciel.

Lizzie took her sword and shattered the mirrors. She dropped to her knees and coughed.

Far off, Bandiane, casting the illusion, screamed in frustration. "My enchantment cannot easily be daunted."

The image of young Lizzie appeared again.

"You loved Ciel...the real Ciel." Young Lizzie said. "The fake Ciel took him away. And that's why you want to make him suffer!"

"I won't listen to you!" Lizzie said.

Pain struck her body. She was unable to fight.

Xxx

Ciel was searching outside the Hall of Mirrors for Lizzie, when he heard her voice.

Ciel headed for the tent immediately. Lizzie was in danger.

Xxx

Lizzie was collapsed on the floor.

"_My Warrior..." _

She looked up to see Kaguya before her.

"Are you another illusion?"

A sword appeared in Lizzie's hands. "I am the Aether Sword!"

"It has will?" Lizzie touched it.

She aimed at the illusion and destroyed it.

Xxx

Ciel ran to her. "Are you alright?"

"I was trapped in some sort of illusion." Lizzie said. "But Kaguya appeared to me and I was able to get free."

"Enemies appeared and fought you!?" said Ciel.

"When I passed in front of the mirror house," Lizzie said. "I was strangely drawn in... When it showed me delusions, it crept straight to my heart. The enemies are so obscene! They might be after us. We should be careful."

"Using the circus show," said Ciel. "are they plotting to brainwash people!? Damn!"

"The Dead Moon Circus!" Lizzie said.. "People will fall into their trap! We have to stop them somehow. We must expose their true identity at any cost! We have to protect the people of this city! We will eliminate the Dead Moon Circus from this city at once!"

xxx

Meanwhile Bandiane sat in her lair and smiled at the remaining Dreamers.

"The Circus has just begun!"


	5. Laurel Wreath

"Young Master?" Sebasitan said. "Want an afternoon snack?"

"I don't have an appetite. I'm full."

"What!?" Sebastian said. He left the room. "Oh well, too bad. Today we've got lemon pie, melons, chocolate cake, and sherbet..."

Ciel's eyes widened. He went downstairs. "I don't have an appetite, but!" He said. "I'll eat."

After Ciel finished eating he put on a jacket and headed for the door.

"Where you going?" asked Sebastian.

"I'm going to..." said Ciel. "I'm looking for...I'll be back."

Ciel left and thought to himself.

_I have only been thinking of Kaguya. She kissed me. Why isn't she appearing more often? Is she trapped? Kaguya must have many secrets. I want to make her strong. I wonder who I can go to for advice. I could go to Holly, but she will talk forever and the Eclipse Circus will be the first thing on her mind. Sebastian won't ask questions, but he will wonder if Kaguya and I are involved. Lizzie will just get jealous. I could go to Snake; but I don't want to involve him..._

"It doesn't matter." Ciel said to himself. "I can find a way to save her myself. With my own strength."

Xxx

Kaguya was lying caged on the floor.

"_I have to hold on,"_ she thought. _"Unless I hold on, even my Warrior's body will be ruined... And then the planet, too..."_

She could hear Xia and Bandiane talking.

"We will kill Kaguya's chosen soldiers." Xia said. "Not to worry, my Queen. We will slay them in front of her, and the Princess will despair and die at last. You will finally gain immortality."

"It will be all mine." Bandiane said.

Xxx

Ciel was lying in bed coughing.

"The aura enveloping his body is weakening. A disturbance is occurring within his body." Sebastian said. "I've never seen a magical disturbance so bad on a human being."

Ciel coughed harder. Blood splattered onto his hand.

"But, there is nothing I can do with my power anymore." Sebastian said.

Ciel coughed again.

"Ciel? Are you awake?" Lizzie said tentatively.

"Lizzie...please leave. I just want to rest."

Lizzie looked at him and sighed. "Alright."

Ciel winced as Lizzie closed the door behind her. _"I can't let her get suspicious..."_ he thought. He looked at his wet hand. _"...of this black blood!"_

_"What's wrong with my body! The Eclipse Circus! From now on, they're reaching their evil hands through this city! When I say from now on, even if I do it again, am I being a burden...!"_

Xxx

As Sieglinde walked home she ran into Ciel.

"I was just going over to your place to talk to you about something." Ciel said.

"Is it about a girl?" Sieglinde guessed.

Ciel's eyes widened in surprise.

Sieglinde cheered. "I'll make a great dinner."

They headed to the market to get some spices.

Inside a man named Taka was throwing a fit because the store doesn't have the spices he wants.

"Sir, you can find the spices you want at the foreigner's market." Sieglinde said.

She took him outside and offered to go with him to the other store.

"I appreciate your kindness." Taka said. "I'm doing market research."

Taka showed Sieglinde his store, an Herbal shop. "Sieglinde, Ciel, please come in."

"So what are you doing here all of a sudden." Sieglinde said.

"I'm part of the Eclipse Circus." Taka said. "It's my dream to have an herb shop."

"It's my dream to become a doctor." Sieglinde said.

"When you've had a goal since your youth, you must pursue it." Taka said, and gave Ciel and Sieglinde two rings. "The stones are Amazon Stones, anti-evil charms from the Amazon, and they have the ability to make dreams come true."

Ciel and Sieglinde returned to Sieglinde's place with the food they bought, and were making a salad. Sieglinde looked at the ring on her finger.

_"A charm that can make dreams come true, eh?_" she thought. "_He was a wonderful person. It's twinkling. To make my dream come true, I should keep pursuing it further."_

_"My dream... Since my parents died early, I've been living on my own for a long time. I want to win become a doctor. After that is a secret, but... I also really want to become a pretty woman like Lizzie. And then to become strong like Sebastian, too. I have lots of dreams. But those dreams... Have I been pursuing them?"_

_Xxx_

"So you're telling me you cooked, Ciel?" Lizzie said.

"Yes I did." Ciel said.

"I see," said Lizzie. "Then what?"

"This is that Amazon Stone. The ring's stone is a charm. Hey. It's pretty, but isn't it suspicious!? Getting a stone that looks this expensive for free." Ciel said.

"Ciel, can I keep this?" Lizzie said.

"Right, right." Ciel said.

After he left, Lizzie turned to the ring. "An Amazon Stone...?" She cracked the stone with a pair of pliers. "Looks like a normal stone, but... I'll leave it for a while and see..."

Xxx

Sieglinde headed over to see Taka.

"How are you doing going after your dreams?" Taka said.

Sieglinde looked down. "I can't really talk about it to my friends... I... have lots of dreams. But... I'm hesitant... Which path should I choose? I've always kept it buried inside me. My dreams... won't they come true? The path I'm taking now is in the opposite direction, I think-No, what am I saying?"

"If you're hesitant, will you quit?" Taka asked. "Fighting as a Warrior?"

"What!?" Lemures begin to flow out from the ring on Sieglinde's finger. "What!? These-! This ring! I can't take it off!?"

"These little incarnations of nightmares, the lemures, they want you, filled up with dreams. How would you like to join the Eclipse Circus, too? Let's spread nightmares around the world together." Taka said.

Ropes of energy tied around Sieglinde. The window blinds closed on the shop.

"How pitiful," Taka said.. "No one will come to save you now. Heh heh!" The ropes tighten around Sieglinde. She collapsed.

_"I'm losing my strength..." _she thought. _"Sorry, everyone..."_

Sieglinde opened her eyes and looks up. "This place..."

"_My Warrior..." _Kaguya called. "_Without your strength and wisdom, who will protect me? Who will protect Ciel and Lizzie?_

_"That's right,"_ thought Sieglinde. _"I am the Warrior. I have many dreams, but my biggest dream now is to protect the ones I love. That is my mission!"_

_"That's the spirit, Warrior." _

Sieglinde felt a wreath of laurel around her head.

_"The emblem of thunder and lightning!"_ she thought. "Leaves of oak!" She ran at the enemies. "I'm going to expel you from this city! That time will be the time when you die! Eclipse Circus! Oak Evolution!"

The attack flies by them, cutting apart the flying hawk. The Herb Shop vanished. At that moment, Ciel and Lizzie appeared.

"It will be you who dies, Ciel Phantomhive." Bandiane said.

"That woman..." Sieglinde said.

Ciel heard a ringing sound. "A bell!" He said. "Kaguya!?" He took out the small bell. "Kaguya! Is she calling me from somewhere!?"

Suddenly Ciel choked and collapsed.

Lemures leapt from the air and attacked Ciel's chest.

Kaguya stepped from the same portal and tried to fight them off.

"Ciel!? Kaguya?!" Sieglinde, Lizzie, and Mey Rin said.

Using their new powers, they destroyed the lemures.

"My Warrior..." gasped Kaguya. She collapsed on the floor.

"K-Kaguya..." Ciel caught her, clutching his chest. "She's been protecting me all this time...there are wounds all over her body..."

They saw the blood on Ciel's hands.

"Ciel!? Black blood!?" Lizzie stared at him.


	6. Circlet

"Ciel!" Ciel kneels on his bed, coughing. Kaguya stands next to him.

Mey-Rin runs into the room. "Ciel!"

"Black blood!" says Lizzie. "Ciel! How long? Why is your blood black..."

"I don't know," he says. "Since a little while ago. My chest started hurting..."

_"And the black shadow in my lungs..._" he thinks to himself.

"Kaguya!" says Ciel. "Tell me! You must know! Is my black blood related to the enemies and you? Is this the enemies' doing!?"

"It seems the time has come already," says Kaguya. "Let us talk." In a glowing light, the Kaguya transformed into a Priestess. She knelt before them. "I am the Priestess of he Dreaming," he says.

"Priestess?" asks Ciel. "The Dreaming?"

"The Dreaming is the holy land that protects Earth," he says. "It quietly rests deep in the Earth, a place like the heart of this planet. I serve as a priestess there. My mission is to continue watching over the Dreamland, and this planet Earth, and you, my Warrior. I am also the guardian priestess of this planet and you."

_"My guardian priestess...?"_ thinks Ciel.

"Since the distant past," continues Kaguya, "you have protected this planet all alone, not knowing you were doing so. Your dalliances with the fairies are proof of that.."

"Do you know me?" he asks.

"Yes, Warrior. But you probably don't know me. This planet is protected by the holy land of Dreaming. I live together with the Dreamland. You, this planet, Dreaming and me. Our four spirits and bodies are linked. And those four spirits and bodies are starting to resonate."

"Our four spirits and bodies are... linked? Resonating?"

"But for that," says Kaguya, "this is happening." A beam of light shines from her forehead to Ciel's chest. A dark flower appeared in front of him.

"Ciel!?" said Lizzie. "Inside your chest...!"

Ciel looks at himself in the mirror.

_"Inside my chest..." _he thinks. _"A black rose is blooming...!?"_

"In my chest as well," said Kaguya. "A cursed black rose is ruining me. It is a sign of the defilement of the Dreaming; the eternal Nightmare. My Warrior, you are suffering from a curse just like I and Dreaming are."

_"Inside Ciel's chest..." t_hinks Lizzie. _"A black rose...? A curse!?"_

"The form you are looking at is an illusion of me," says Kaguya. "My body now is also being caged by the curse. I am confined to Dreaming."

"A curse!?" says Ciel. "Confined!? Who could do such a thing...!?"

"There is only one who could do this. In the kingdom of nightmares, inside the new moon. Queen Bandiane of the Eclipse Circus. The Eclipse, their kingdom was sealed deep in the darkness of the new moon. Since long ago, they have been plotting to rule Earth. The Eclipse's Queen Bandiane is an apparition of revenge. If they cause damage to Dreaming, this planet will fall easily. From inside the darkness, the heart of the Earth, Dreaming, was cursed. First, to lift the curse from within, I prayed continually. But with my small power, my prayers were not answered. The curse spread like a nightmare. Dreaming was ruined, and soon the power protecting Earth faded away. Taking that chance, they crept in the moment of the beautifully cursed solar eclipse. It seems this planet is now being invaded from within and without. Due to the curse on Dreaming, its dying condition is under rule by darkness and nightmares. If these conditions continue long, the nightmares will shortly spread to the surface as well, making this planet a dead planet, and making it theirs. Ciel. They are not aware of my powerful Warrior, you. Please, I request that you use your power to defeat them."

"I will help!" says Lizzie. "Together we will defeat the enemies! If I do that, I'll save Dreaming, you, and Ciel, too!"

"It's regrettable," says Kaguya, "but even if you defeat them, you cannot lift the curse on Dreaming and the Warrior."

"What are you saying!?"

"In this ruined body, it was quite hard getting to my Warrior. Then I finally found you. Ciel, if you are indeed the chosen warrior, you should be able to search out the Shikon no Tama.. If you have the beautiful dream. If you are the soldier. If you are the chosen warrior, who can break the seal on the Shikon no Tama."

"The Shikon no Tama?"

Wing sprouted out from Kaguya's back.

"Kaguya!?"

"Warrior," she says. "I am a priestess. I only have the power to pray for salvation and watch over. Warrior, I need your power. The day to break the seal on the Shikon no Tama has come. Please, save everything from the nightmares with the power of the Shikon no Tama..." She disappeared..

"Kaguya!" Lizzie called. "Without the Shikon, I can't save Ciel and Kaguya, and Dreaming and Earth! The Shikon! Where is it? How can I find it...?"

Ciel coughs up more blood.

"Ciel!?" Lizzie said.

"You should stay away from me!" he says. "This curse... You might catch it! You shouldn't stay with me."

_"I can't even lend you my strength with this body,"_ he thinks to himself sadly.

"I will stay with you," said Lizzie.

"Lizzie..." Ciel said.

"I'll protect this planet, you, and everyone!" Lizzie said.

_"Kaguya...!"_ thinks Ciel. _"I want to help him... Kaguya."_

_"Without the Shikon,"_ thinks Mey-Rin, _"the Warrior and Dreaming won't be saved. And maybe even this planet. The Shikon... Where could it be? What kind of crystal is it!?"_

"So to completely save Earth from the Eclipse," says Sieglinde , "we need the Shikon... And this thing that's happening to Ciel..."

"We should have been thinking of these enemies differently," says Mey-Rin. "From now on, the five of us have to fight to help Lizzie and to protect Ciel."

"Right!" says Ciel.

"Now how are we going to go about fighting the enemies? We need to work on a strategy."

"Yeah, we do."

"Um, yeah," said Doll. "Right..." She left. _"How come I'm the only one who has no power?"_ she thinks. "Right... I didn't tell the others, but... I lost my power. Only me."

Xxx

Doll went to Snake .

"I've lost my power, Snake." Doll said. "I've lost my strength."

"Your time will come, says Wordsworth." Snake said. "You are in the process of storing power as a great soldier."

Doll isn't comforted much and decides to go take a bath.

_Acting like this isn't strong at all. I must be strong. I am a soldier, just like the others._

Xxx

Watching Doll in her Mirror, Bandiane called forth two Circus brothers.

"You will destroy this soldier before she can regain her strength!"

Xxx

"It is hot this summer." Doll said. "The city gets dirtier and dirtier. Lemures hide in the dirt and darkness."

Two men were arguing.

Mey-Rin took out a mirror. "I got this from Ciel. He said that it can detect the strange magic from Eclipse."

"It's all coming from the center of the Circus." Sieglinde said.

_I wonder if that's why I've lost my powers. But then why does it only affect me?"_ Doll thought

"Are you ok?" Lizzie said. "Your acting strange."

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Doll ran off.

Xxx

Doll ran off. "_Why have I lost my powers...my strength. What if an enemy threatens Ciel? I'm supposed to be a soldier ! I'm supposed to protect him!"_

A man approaches her. "You," he says. "Would you like to go to a circus audition?"

Xxx

"I've been scouted!" Doll said to the others. "It's my dream and whatever it takes I'll make it come true!"

"It sounds suspicious." Mey-Rin said. "Show me the scout's card."

"_Eclipse Entertainment Mr. Xenotime"_

"Whoa." Mey-Rin said. "Look at this.

"I'm in a hurry." Doll said, and left.

Xxx

Doll looks at the audition ad as she walks down the street. _"I'm such an idiot,"_ she thought. _"I knew it was probably a Eclipse trap."_

"Doll! Wait, says Emily," called Snake. "What are you thinking! Are you planning to go after them by yourself? Even though you lost your powers!"

"Shut up!" says Doll. "This is the chance to show my power!" she thinks. "I have to act! I'm going after them! The Eclipse! I'm made to fight, for fun and profit!"

Xxx

Doll goes to the Eclipse audition. _"All these Eclipse buildings are here all of a sudden!?" _she thinks. _"It's so hot and stuffy. It feels really suffocating here. It's not just the heat. I'm sure there's a strange air hanging. We've been invaded without knowing it. Now! I'm going to check this out thoroughly!" _She puts on a dress and gathers with the other girls there for the audition. _"What!?"_ she thinks. _"This many girls came!?"_

She looks at her reflection in her crescent moon compact. _"There's no way I can save everyone by myself,"_ she thinks. _"I guess I should call Ciel and the others... But... then everyone will find out I lost my powers! No! Don't be afraid! Never say die, Doll! I'll fight by myself! That's what I've decided!"_

Zeolite calls everyone to enter the tent and Doll finds herself in a jungle.

"Now! The survival audition begins!" says Zeolite. "This audition will fit you for the story. One after another, become brave girls, and come out of the jungle. Then save the children on top of that tower!"

Four kids cower on the tower, crying.

_"They put children up there!?"_ thinks Doll.

"First place gets a prize of $50,000!" says Zeolite. "And will become our next wrestling champion!"

All the girls charge into the jungle, shoving others out of the way.

"Hehe," says Bandiane. "Get angry, get angry. Release more and more energy. The lemures will change your energy and dreams into nightmares. Being able to spread this many nightmares makes me happy."

"Everyone, calm down!" says Doll. "This audition is strange! Get out of the tent!"

"Shut up!" says one girl. "We're going to be wrestlers!" They continue running.

"Wait, everyone!" Doll calls. Boulders begin falling toward Doll.

"Look out, says Keats!" Snake runs in front of her and destroys the boulders.

"Snake!?"

"Doll!" Sieglinde says. "I don't care what you say."

"Right!" says Lizzie. "When we go after enemies, we all go together!"

"Lizzie!? Snake!?"

Lemures begin attacking her.

"Doll! Use your powers, says Wordsworth!"

"I-I can't do it!" Doll said.

"Doll!?" says Lizzie.

_"Like this, I'll just be a burden on everyone!"_ Doll thinks. She runs into the jungle. _"I'm going ahead!"_

"Doll!"

Doll comes to a clearing and sees lemures swarming over unconscious bodies. "Everyone!" she says. "Hold on! They're multiplying rapidly, these things! Oh no! Could they be sucking up everyone's power!? They just want to be wrestlers. Preying on those pure and clean dreams! I won't allow it! I'm stopping this event, Eclipse! I'll save them all!" She climbs up the tall tower holding the kids. As she approaches the top, knives begin pelting down at her.

"Doll! Watch out!" calls Sieglinde . Knives fly at the three soldiers.

"Seems we have people who aren't participants in the audition," says Zeolite. "Make one move, and I won't guarantee the survival of your little friend who lost her powers. Now, lemures! Eat up these soldiers, and put them to an end! Ahahaha!"

Doll reaches the top of the tower. "I made it!" she says. "Now I'm going to save you all!" The kids change into lemures. "They're not children! Damn!" She drops to the floor as more knives fly at her.

"Congratulations!" says Bandiane. "You've cleared a number of obstacles, and you've arrived here in first place! Now you're one step away from being an wrestler!"

_"I can't move my body!"_ Doll thinks.

"Last, we'll do a little treasure hunting," says Bandiane. "Little lemures!"

"Lemures!?" Doll screams as the lemures delve into her body. _"I feel faint..."_ she thinks. _"They're slipping inside my head..."_

"Ehehe," says Bandiane. "Now you're a member of the Eclipse. So, go to where your friends are, and destroy them."

Doll gets up. "Destroy..." she says. "For our Eclipse... Heh."

Snake grabbed her. "Doll, says Emily!" he says.

Doll cries out in pain. "Snake!?"

"Get a hold of yourself, says Keats!" he says.

"Damn!" says Bandiane. She stamps her foot on the floor.

A trap door opens underneath Doll, and she drops through it. "Oh no! I'm fallllllling!"

Snake grabs onto her hand, holding her in the air.

"Snake!?"

_"Oh no..."_ she thinks. _"My arm feels like it's going to come off..."_

Bandiane appears. "This is where I have my fun," she says. "Hailstone Ball!" she calls.

A boulder appears in the air. "Snake!" calls Doll. The boulder falls down toward him. "Snake! Noooooo!"


	7. Stolen Dreams

Doll hung from the tower, high over the ground. A boulder rests on the floor next to her hand. Blood ran down her arm. "Snake!" she cried. Tears streamed from her eyes. "_I'm sorry, Snake!"_ she thinks. _"I always only said unfair things to you. I was only cruel to you. Now I know. You and I are partners!"_

The boulder was lifted up. A hand grabbed Doll's, and Snake held her in the air. "Now I know," he said. "That you couldn't become a warrior, Doll. It's because as your partner, I lacked power."

"Snake...?" He smiled. _"Power is spreading all through my body,"_ she thought. _"Even more than before, such strength. Snake and I are linked together."_

Snake held out a heart-shaped crystal. "Your Crystal, Doll," he said. She took it.

Doll gained her powers and leapt back onto the top of the power.

"Doll!"

"Snake!"

"Damnit!" said Bandiane.

Doll turns to her. "How dare you treat me with such terrible disdain! I'll beat you with my matchless kusarigama! Shock and Awe!" Bandiane disappeared. The attack flew past her, destroying Xia.

"Why you!" yelled Siegulde. She threw knives at Doll. She swung her kusarigama at Siegulde from the tower, destroying him. She ran down to join the others. "Holly! Snake! Minerva! Ciel!"

"Doll!" Ciel said. "You became a warrior!"

"I'm sorry, everyone," Doll said. "But I'm fine now."

_"Snake,_" she thinks. _"Thanks to you."_ He looked down at her from the tower, smiling.

Siegulde rejoins her remaining sister, Doll. They sent Lemures to attack the trapped soldiers.

Xxx

_"Can't I do it with my power alone, after all?" _Doll thought. _"Is my power still not enough? If we had more, more strength! To defeat the enemies, to protect the ones important to us! Power! Gather!"_

Ciel stared out the window, at the dark sky. _"I feel uneasy..."_ he thought. _"Tonight again, I can't even see one star. Is this the enemies' doing too? The darkness spreading, so I can't see the stars? Kaguya...I want to go see her. I want to go help her right now. Where is Kaguya? Where is Dreaming!?"_

Ciel began to cough and collapsed.

"Ciel!" the warriors cried, held by the vines.

Xxx

The vines were destroyed by Ciel SR, freeing the others.

Seigulde attacked.

The four enemies vanished, missing her attack. "They dodged it!?"

They stared at each other. All exchanged happy comments and remark on the twin's growth. Doll ran and hugged her brother.

"Snake!" She hugged him down. "You're alright!"

"Doll! Ciel...is he alright?"

"He..." said Lizzie. "He might not hear your voices now."

Xxx

"Ciel!" Lizzie said. "Ciel!?"

Ciel lay in bed, coughing. "I'm okay. I'll get better if I get some rest..."

"Since you came back, you've been in pain, Ciel." Lizzie ran out of the room. "I'm going to call the others!"

Xxx

The Eclipse Dreamers now attacked all 8 warriors and they attacked back all the while talking and exchanging info. Doll asked why Ciel can't hear their voices and Minerva asked why they came back to them.

"A crisis is approaching Ciel," said Seigulde. "We've gathered for that. We can't avoid that destiny. So we'll protect those two with all our strength. We must face and overcome that destiny. We'll cut our way through our new destiny. That is the true mission of us ten warriors."

The girls continued to fight.

Xxx

"My Warriors."

Mey-Rin halted. "That voice...! It can't be..."

"It's is." Lizzie said.

Ciel sat up in bed. "I feel it!" He thought. "They are fighting! Everyone is gathering!"

Lizzie and Mey-Rin ran to Ciel's room and grabbed the mirror from his dresser. "Ciel's hand mirror!" He saw the others in it. "Everyone!?"

Lizzie held up the mirror. "Mirror! Take me to the others!"

"I'm going right after you!" says Ciel.

Lizzie and Mey-Rin vanished with the mirror. The hand mirror appears before Doll. She sees the image of Lizzie and Mey-Rin in it. "Lizzie! Mey-Rin!"

"I have to go too!" Ciel said. He ran out of the house.

As Ciel ran through the street, he saw Kaguya running toward him.

"Kaguya...!"

"Ciel!" she said. "I heard your voice, calling me..."

"I'm all right."

"Ciel!?"

His knees buckled, and he fell down.

"Ciel!"

Kaguya caught him.

"It can't be... Your body... "

"We have to go," Ciel said. "Everyone's gathering. Something is going to happen. We have to go. I'm the one who has to defeat the enemies."

xxx

"Ciel is in crisis!?" said Doll. "For that, all the soldiers are gathering...!" She grabbed Lizzie. "What's going to happen!? What'll happen to those two!?" She screamed as knives flew past her.

"We don't have time for this nonsense!" said Siegulde. She held out her mirror. "Look!" The power blasted a giant hole in the top of the circus tent.

A dark moon loomed in the sky overhead. "It's appeared over the circus! That huge new moon- no, inside the darkness of the new moon, a wide mouth is spreading in outer space! The nightmares are rapidly spouting out from there, to the planet's surface."

"But...!" thought Doll. "There was nothing when we entered the tent! No, from previous lives, the outside was already spreading strange air and darkness.

"People throughout the world, cities, engulfed in the nightmares of their creation. Around this planet, since long ago, it has been covered by a strange barrier of darkness. They plan to conquer this planet, and make it a planet of death."

The girls of the Eclipse Quartet laugh.

Ciel runs through the city in darkness. "The darkness is getting thicker!" He thinks. "Was the world this dark?" The decrepit streets are covered in trash. People everywhere are fighting.

"What did you say, punk!"

"Die!"

"Haha! Kill him!"

"Since when has the city been this enraged!?" thinks Ciel. "This isn't Juuban!" He sees the dark moon in the sky, clouds all around it. "What's that? A pitch-black moon...? No, it's just like a black hole...!"

"Mother! Father! Lizzie! Mey-Rin!" Ciel calls.

Zia appears in the air. "Damn girls!" she says. "You're a lot of trouble. This is the end of your play." She sees Ciel. "Heh heh heh. You come here often, warriors. I am the guiding soul serving Queen Bandiane, Zia. Ones of the Dreaming! It is too late, this city is already ours. This planet, too, is practically under our rule."

"Such a fragile planet," says Queen Bandiane, appearing above him. "The humans accept our nightmares defenselessly. This planet is protected by weak ones who accept the nightmares themselves! Just like twisting a baby's neck!"

Ciel start to cough hard.

"Ciel!" calls Lizzie.

"I won't let you!" says Ciel. "Preying on weakness, doing as you please!"

"The Dreaming was gone long ago," Zia says. "You should be eliminated! Cursed ones!" The winged eyeball flies from his staff.

"Look out!" Lizzie calls.

It shoots a beam at Ciel.

Kaguya lies on the floor, in his cage. "Oh no! My Warrior!" The Pegasus appears.

"Kaguya!" calls Ciel.

Ciel begin to shrink under the beam, becoming younger and younger.

"My Warrior!?"

Ciel lay on the ground, as a child, coughing.

"You are slowly suffering and losing your breath," says Zia. "Good. Heh heh. Ahahaha!"

"Oh no!" says Holly. "Is this the second stage of the curse Kaguya was talking about!?"

"My body now is also being changed by the curse," Kaguya said.

"This... isn't fair!" says Mey-Rin. "I won't let you!"

"Now you can't protect this planet anymore!" say the girls of the Eclipse Quartet. "Heh heh. Ahaha!" They run away.

Lizzie and Mey-Rin run after them. "Mey-Rin!?" calls Minerva. "Lizzie!"

Kaguya approaches the two coughing children. "Their resistance is rapidly diminishing," he says. "If it continues like this, their lives will...!" Light begins to shine from the jewel on his forehead. A light flashes, and Ciel and Kaguya are gone.

"Ciel? Kaguya!?"

Mey-Rin follows after Lizzie. "Where are you going?"

"To fulfill my destiny," says Lizzie. "To fight together with you!" They run into a circus tent.

Inside the tent, the four sisters of the Eclipse Quartet attack and cover the two girls up with soy beans.

Lizzie thrusts out his weapon. A force field forms around her and Mey-Rin, shielding them.

"Your spirits are also ruled by those nightmares!" Lizzie says. "Don't you see it!?"

"What are you talking about!? Since we were born on the Dead Moon, with the power of the sacred new moon's darkness, we are capable of controlling the nightmares!"

"You're only using that power as a perverted form of the power inside you! Wake up! Silence Glaive Surprise!"

A haze appears around the four girls. "Hated ones of the Dreaming! Our plot is to take the blue planet!" Broken glass falls at them.

Mey-Rin hears voices in his head.

"Beautiful dreams are garbage!"

"In darkness, in the circus, dreaming wasn't allowed."

"Hate! It's all the fault of the ones of the Dreaming!"

"Nightmares are flowing in," he thinks. "But these nightmares are a little familiar. Aren't they enemies!?"

"Wake up," says Lizzie, holding out his weapon. "Otherwise, there is only death. You are only being manipulated by the dead."

The four girls stare at her in silence. Jina slowly reaches her hand toward Lizzie. A barrier appears between them, and the four jerk back in pain.

Zia shows up and yells at the Eclipse Quartet calling them immature brats. They call out 'Grandma forgive us' but Zia sucks them up into a ball. "They've forgotten the kindness with which I lovingly raised them," she says. "Now they're only disruptions." The winged eyeball returns to her. "Oh, Zia," she says. "Punish the invaders over there." The eyeball glows. Two shards of glass are raised from the ground.

Mey-Rin grabs his weapon. The two shards fly at Mey-Rin and Lizzie, and they are sucked into the glass. Zia picks up the balls and glass. "Heh heh." She puts them through the black mirror, dropping them on the other side. "Heh heh heh." Queen Bandiane smiles as she sees the four balls and two shards of glass drop to the ground before her.


	8. Waking

"Blinding... The light of the sun... It feels so good... Ahh... In Kaguya's bed. Always deep in the scent of the sun and nature..."

"Ciel... Ciel..."

"Uhh..." The young boy looks up and sees a small girl with short, dark hair.

"Kaguya?"

She bends down and kisses him. "Morning, Ciel."

He sits up in bed.

"Now, take a shower and get dressed," She says. "How do you want your eggs? Sunny-side up, boiled, or in an omelet?"

"Omelet..."

"Okay!"

She runs out of the room.

"W- What the-?" Ciel thinks. "I feel like somehow I'm dreaming, but..." She goes into the kitchen, after getting dressed. "Good morning, Kaguya."

Kaguya is setting the table. "Ah, Ciel," he says. "Today we're having French toast. Want jam on yours?"

"I'll have lime marmalade! Wait, I don't have time to be eating carefree like this!"

"It's all right," says Kaguya. "We've still got an hour before the bell."

"A- An hour!?" Ciel cries. "Oh! Oh no! My research! I was going to get up early this morning and do it!"

"Ciel," says Kaguya. She holds out his book. "I did it already. And I put all your books in your bag."

They leave the house for school. "Is... Is this a dream?"

"Man, Ciel, you're strange," Kaguya says. "You can't dream while you're walking."

"Oh, I guess not."

"I'm happy," she says. "My dream was to live with you, Ciel, and go to school together every morning. I'm so happy my dream has come true."

"What...?" He thinks. "Is that what it is?"

"I want to make all your dreams come true, Ciel. You don't have to do anything. You can just take advantage of me."

"Kaguya..." he thinks. "She used to be this sweet... The normal Kaguya is more cool and grave, and she'd never do my work for me."

"Your dream, Kaguya," she says. "Wasn't it for your freedom...?"

"My dream is to marry you," she says.

His eyes widen in shock.

"What's your dream, Ciel?"

"M- Mine!?" he says. "My dream is..."

"Ciel... Ciel..."

"Uhh..."

Ciel opens her eyes and sees the adult Kaguya looking at him with concern.

"Are you all right?" She asks.

"Kaguya?" he groans. "Damnit! It was a dream, after all!" she thinks. "But Kaguya was so cute, and that situation was perfect..."

"Does your body feel well?"

Ciel looks up. "Kaguya!" He looks at himself. "B- But, my body was shrinking..."

"Shh," says Kaguya. "Make your voice as quiet as possible. It might be useless, but we do not want Bandiane to notice us. I want to go to the shrine. We have come this far, and the nightmares on the surface have abated somewhat. The remaining purification power of this land has returned you to your original forms."

Ciel looks at the devastated land around him. "This place..."

"This is the Dreaming."

"Like the wasteland of the night..." thinks Ciel.

Ciel sees black flowers on the ground. "Kaguya!"

"The black roses are a sign of the curse," says Kaguya. "Of this once beautiful Dreaming becoming a land of nightmares. Let us proceed to the shrine."

They enter the old shrine, and climb the steps to the center, where a large crystal formation stands, holding two people inside. Both have two ponytails hanging from balls of hair.

"Is that... crystal?" Ciel says. "And people inside!?"

"Besides me," says Kaguya, "there are only two inhabitants of this land. Maidens serving the shrine. They are maenads. The crystal is the one hope of purifying this land. These two are sleeping, protected from the curse."

"This is familiar..." thinks Kaguya. "I feel like I know this building, the smell of this place."

"Warrior, your kinsmen have always protected this shrine. And the Dreaming. This is the place where your dead kingdom, the Golden Kingdom, used to be."

"The Golden Kingdom...!" thinks Ciel. "Yes... I know this place. The same winds as on the surface blow through the thick green of this sacred land that guards this planet, Dreaming. I lived in this land, and I loved this place."

"That's right," says Kaguya. "From here, you went to the surface and protected this planet. Deep in this shrine, I offered my prayers to protect this planet. We never met each other, but our souls were always one. Our wishes were always one. And with the destined meeting of you two, again, we had the same wish. In your separate places, you couldn't be together. Then, too, the two of you shared the same mission, the same power, the same soul."

"The same mission?" says Ciel. "The same power...the same soul?"

"You protected this planet Earth. The Golden Kingdom. And now that mission is carried in the crystal of your kingdom. The Golden Crystal is the holy stone of the Warrior of the Golden Kingdom. They send out your power."

"Here, in the heart of the shrine," says Kaguya, "is the tower of prayer. This is where I always offered my prayers, and received all sorts of revelations. Those revelations, too, I received at this tower."

"Kaguya..." the figure says. "The time for the seal to be lifted on the Golden Crystal has come. However, for you and Dreaming, that will be the time of your biggest trial." The crescent moon gleams on the figure's forehead. "I can only tell you this now, but the warrior will always be on your side."

"The warrior...?" asks Ciel.

"The warrior carries the beautiful dream. He is protected by the light of the moon. He is the soldier, and she carries the power that can break the seal on the Golden Crystal."

"And you..."

"That revelation was referring to you," says Kaguya. "That name and figure. The time has come. The day when you, warrior, with the power of your holy strength, will break the seal on the Golden Crystal."

"Kaguya," says Ciel. "The Golden Crystal... Where is it now?"

"Where the Golden Crystal is sealed, nobody knows. It could be somewhere here in Dreaming, or it may be somewhere else. Warrior, if you are the one, if you are the one who had the crystal long ago, you will know where."

"The same as me..." she says. "Could it be... The Golden Crystal is inside my body...!"

"Yes!" says Kaguya. "The Golden Crystal has been sealed inside you!"

"Inside me... The Golden Crystal!? There's... There's no way..."

"I know it's there," Kaguya says. "You've always filled me with strength. That strength always guided my power. That strength was the very strength of the Golden Crystal! The time has come for that holy stone's power to be crystallized, and released!"

"In me... The power of the crystal... I was always just dragging you down, while inside me..."

"I just had a dream," says Kaguya. "Just before I woke up, you asked me what my dream was. My dream is to protect this planet, so that everyone can live in happiness. To do it with you, Ciel. What's your dream?"

"My dream, too," he says, "is to protect this planet, together with you."

They hold each other.

"I'm glad," says Kaguya. "They're the same. Our dreams were always one."

Ciel sees the Kaguya's real body lying on the ground, locked in a cage.

"Kaguya!? Your body was captured over there!?"

He runs to the cage.

"Warrior!" Kaguya the woman calls after her.

As Ciel touches the cage, an electrical field around it activates, shocking him. He cries out in pain.

"So the mice have crept in," says Bandiane. She stands and walks to the black mirror. She passes through it, to stand in the shrine. "The pretty bird in the cage was a lure for the mice. Heh heh heh."

"Bandiane!?" Ciel says. "Let Kaguya go!"

A lights glows on the chests of Ciel.

"That light!" says Kaguya.

"Vulgar mice," says Bandiane.

The jewel on Kaguya's forehead shines. "Dreaming!" She calls. "Give me strength!"

A sphere of light appears around Ciel, and it carries him into the air.

Bandiane shoots electricity at Kaguya, shocking him.

"Kaguya!"

"Quickly, to the surface!" she says. "Now you will be able to resist the nightmares up there! Protect this planet!"

Ciel and Kaguya (her spirit) vanishes from the sky.

Xxx

The seven warriors stare at the ground.

"Ciel! Kaguya!"

Ciel and Kaguya appears before them.

"Ciel! Kaguya!"

"Everyone!" says Ciel.

Kaguya joins hands with Ciel.

"Where's Mey Rin and Lizzie!?" Ciel says.

"They were following the Amazoness Quartet into the forest!"

"Haven't they come back!?"

Xxx

"I am troubled," says Bandiane. "But whatever the problem is, it is already too late."

"Bandiane-sama," says Zia. "The guard of Dreaming has become weak. We have a chance if we act now! Leave it to your guiding soul, Zia."

Xxx

Ciel looks at the dense foliage and bodies all around her. The dark moon looms in the sky. "This jungle! These people of the city!"

"It's hot..." says Doll.

"I... can't breathe..." says Seigulde.

"Everyone!?" Ciel says. "Hold on!"

Ciel started to cough, hacking up blood.

"We can't be defeated..." Ciel says. "We have to save everyone. But... It hurts... I can't... breathe...! Kaguya...!"

"Warrior!" calls Kaguya. "You've hidden your holy power. Dreaming! Please, send your power of purification to the surface! Grant my final prayer!" A light shines on top of the shrine. On the surface, crystal begins to grow over the jungle.

"The heat's dropped!?" says Doll. "What happened!?"

"Warrior!"

"Kaguya? Is this the purification power of Dreaming?"

"It might not hold for long," says Kaguya. "But this is this limit of myself and Dreaming."

"Kaguya!?"

"Warrior... I am happy to have met you..."

Her spirit meets with Ciel's, fading away.

"Kaguya!" Ciel cries.

Xxx

Zia appears outside the circus tent. Bandiane laughs.

"Her power has finally given out!" Zia says. She rises into the sky, growing huge.

The warrior look up at her. "She's become gigantic!?"

Power blasts out from her body into the air.

Two beams pierce Ciel through the chest.

He fall to the ground, blood spewing out.

"Ciel!" the others call.


	9. Nightmare

Ciel fell to the ground, blood spewing out.

"Ciel!" the others call.

Lizzie ran to Ciel, and lifts up his blood-covered body. Ciel skin melts away from her body. Lizzie drops her in horror. "Noooo!" she screams.

"Ciel!" yells Mey-Rin.

"Oh my..." thinks Seigulde. "Oh my god..."

"This!" yells Doll. "This is a nightmare!"

Xxx

"A nightmare!?" thinks Ciel. "What happened?" He looks around and sees the dead bodies of all the others. "Everyone!? Lizzie!? Mey-Rin?! Seigulde!? Doll!?" His rotting body dripped blood on his suit. "Oh no... This... is a nightmare...!"

"Hahaha!" laughs the immense Zia, towering over the crystal-covered city. "This planet forever belongs to the New Moon. Weak ones, forever become vagabonds, inside the darkness and nightmares of the new moon!"

"Look!" said Ciel, pointing to the monitor in the command room below Phantomhive Manor. "Earth is being engulfed in darkness! At this rate, the surface will give way and the Dreaming's crystal barrier will be broken! The surface will be drawn into that new moon!"

"Nobody's responding, Young Master!" says Finny, wearing his headset.

"Oh no!" thinks Bardroy. "Was everyone... By the New Moon..."

Finny stares into the monitor. "Earth is..."

"I'm going to the Dead Moon Circus!" Bardroy says.

"Wait! Bardroy!" calls Finny.

Bardroy stops.

"Let's stay on alert here for a while."

"The others won't lose to this!" says Ciel. "We believe in them! They will surely protect this planet!"

He slaps awake Lizzie and Doll.

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Ciel says. "These are the enemies' nightmares!"

"Ciel!" says Lizzie, holding her red cheek.

"Ciel!?" say the others, seeing him alive.

"Look!" Ciel shouts.

"Zia!"

"Be strong!" Ciel says. "Do you want to hand this planet over to them!? Defeat them and protect this planet!"

"Ciel...!" think the three outer soldiers as they look at Ciel. "He broke through that nightmare with his own strength...!?"

Ciel remembered Kaguya. "Oh... That's right... I just swore to you that I would forever defend the happiness of the people on this planet. And that wasn't a dream. Defending this planet has always been our reality. To nightmares... To our own dreams... We can't give in to such things! We can't give in!"

"Right," thinks Seigulde. "Ciel, our everything... Our life and our death, our despair and our hope, and our dreams, forever shining, lie with you." She thrusts her hand into the air. "Ciel!" She shouts. "Whatever happens, we will protect you!"

They join hands as they kneel in a circle, and power shoots into the air.

It strikes Zia, knocking him from the sky, and he falls to the ground. "G- God damnit...!" he says. He flies back up, disappearing into the circus big top.

The others run to it.

Doll and Lizzie fired at the big top.

A hole blasts open in the tent.

"There!" says Mey-Rin, looking through her glasses.

They rush in after Zia. Zia places his hand against the black mirror, pushing it in. He moves through it. "Into the mirror!?"

Ciel follows him, running through the mirror.

"Ciel!?"

Lizzie rushes after her, and slams against the hard glass of the mirror.

Ciel sees a black figure sitting among broken glass. The woman has long, long dark hair, falling to the floor. Three joined crescent moons adorn her forehead.

"This place!?" Ciel thinks. "That woman!?"

"Heh heh heh..." the woman says. "Such power! Allowing you to make it in here. At last, the time has come for the brilliant, unmatched power of that planet to belong to me, Queen Bandiane. Heh heh heh."

"Queen... Bandiane!?"

Ciel looks around. "I feel it... The brilliant power of the planet... The brilliant power of the planet's protection! From where!?" She looks at the ground. "Those four stones... and shards of glass!? Finny! Bardroy!"

Finny and Bardroy wake up in glass prisons. "Where are we!?" they think.

"Finny! Bardroy! You're in there!?"

"Ciel!"

Bandiane laughs as she shoots glass at Ciel. The glass forms a wall, surrounding Ciel.

"Finny! Bardroy!" He grabbed his sword and attacked The glass around him shatters, and Finny and Bardroy are freed. "Finny! Bardroy!"

"Damn you!" shouts Bandiane.

Ciel, Finny, and Bardroy attacked. Glass shatters, leaving a wavering image of Bandiane.

Lizzie and Seigulde pound on the solid mirror. "Ciel!"

"Everyone!? I saved Finny and Bardroy! Break the mirror!"

Mey-Rin tried to shatter the mirror.

"Let me!" says Lizzie. She runs forward and throws her fist into the mirror.

Bandiane's face cracks. Her image wavers and breaks apart.

"Ohhh!" says Zia. "The beautiful New Moon's Queen Bandiane will not die! She will not die yet!" He flies into the blackness. "Next time we will take everything, and rule space!"

Finny kneels on the ground and picks up the four stones, staring at them.

"Finny!?"

The room begins to crumble around them. They run and jump at the mirror, breaking through to the other side, rejoining the others.

"Ciel!"

The eleven of them stand in the crystal-covered street and stare into the sky, where the winged ship of the New Moon spews spirits into space and slowly shrinks.

It drops to the ground at Ciel' feet.

"Ciel! Finny! Bardroy! You're safe!"

They look around at the empty street.

"Has the Noah's Ark Circus... disappeared?" says Doll.

"There's no change in the city or the atmosphere," says Seigulde.

"Where did they disappear to!?" says Mey-Rin.

"Oh no!" says Ciel. "The Dreaming!?"

"The Dreaming's in danger!" He says to the others. "We're going to Dreaming! Guard the surface!"

"We're going too!"

"No," Ciel says. "Wait here. I have to find Kaguya. I'm going to the Dreaming!"

They all join hands and descend through the blackness to the decrepit land of the Dreaming. Across the calm lake stands the old shrine, where two women wait on the steps.

"We have been waiting," says one.

"We are the maidens who serve this shrine," says the other.

"Kaguya..." says Ciel.

"This way."

The women lead them to the back, where Kaguya lies in a large cage.

"Kaguya!"

"Young Master!" says Sebastian. "Don't touch the cage! It's dangerous."

"Kaguya!" shouts Ciel. "Kaguya! Why won't you answer me? Wake up!"

"Kaguya used all of her power," says Sebastian, "to protect the city and its people from the enemies. And then, her power gave out."

"Did she die?" Ciel asks. "It can't be. It can't be! Kaguya! Answer me! Kaguya!" The small bell dropped to the ground. He picks it up, tears in his eyes. "She not dead," he says. "Kaguya isn't dead yet! Her power hasn't given out! Because I, and the Dreaming, and Earth are alive!"

Sebastian's head jerks up. "A spirit!?" He thinks. "Is somebody, somewhere, watching us!? The enemies aren't dead yet, either. Our fight isn't over yet!"

They hear a scream.

Ciel turns and looks into the sky, and sees the ship flying toward them. "The Noah's Ark ship...!" A black mirror appears, and Zia winged eyeball flies toward it. "That mirror!" The image of the dark woman appears inside it. "Queen Bandiane...!?"


	10. Ascension

"Heh heh heh..." she says. "I am the queen of the kingdom of the new moon's darkness, Bandiane. Ciel Phantomhive... No. Brilliant Warrior of the Dreaming. Your beloved Kaguya thought you could defeat me?"

"Kaguya..." says Ciel. "Do you know her?"

"I will again be Queen of the Dreaming," says Bandiane, "and this planet belongs to the Dreaming! So who is the true ruler of this planet? It seems the time to decide has come."

"This planet belongs to the people of Earth!" Ciel says. "You have sprinkled it with your evil spirits and nightmares! Here, together with your nightmares, you will be destroyed!"

"You cannot defeat my curse," says Bandiane.

Ciel grabs his chest in pain."Why!?"

"You want to know? Cute Warrior... Heh heh."

"The mirror!" Ciel thinks. He grabs his sword and attacks.

Power shoots at the mirror holding Bandiane.

"Ciel!" calls Lizzie.

The attack bounces off the mirror, and shoots back at them.

They find themselves in another world, surrounded by prisms of color.

"This..." says Mey-Rin. "It's just like... we're inside a kaleidoscope...!"

"Damn!" thinks Lizzie. "It was reflected! Are we inside Ciel's attack!?"

Xxx

"Ciel... Ciel..."

Ciel looks around.

He sees a woman kissing a baby. It was his mother.

"Ciel, my son. I'm truly glad you were born."

"Mother!?" Ciel thinks. "Is this a vision... of my birth!?"

"Now, let us celebrate. Everyone, come in!"

Ciel looks around the room, and sees a large mirror on the wall.

"Bandiane's mirror!? Why is it in Mother's room!?"

A younger Madame Red came into the room, with a young Vincent.

"Congratulations!"

"I've been waiting for you," says Rachel. "Angelina my sister."

Madame Red knelt to her.

"I have been eagerly awaiting this time. I am so glad to meet my precious nephew!"

"Soon, he will grow, and catch up to you," says Rachel. "It shall be fun. I wonder what kind of boy he'll become."

People come to Rachel, bringing gifts.

"A gift!"

"Congratulations!"

"Here's a gift!"

A dark woman, cloaked in shadow, enters the room.

"I, too, have a gift," she says.

Vincent and Angelina run between her and the baby.

"For the biggest celebration," Bandiane says, "I was the only one not invited."

"Intruder!" shouts Vincent. "Who are you!?"

"Well," says Bandiane. "Even I live here. But I come from the depths of the earth."

"You lie!" says Angelina. "You don't live on the earth!"

"That's right!" says Vincent. "You crept her in secret, to spread your darkness as an incarnation of bewitching evil!"

"Uninvited guest," says Rachel. "If you are looking for peace, and want to stay, we shall welcome you. But, I shall not allow you to bring the darkness of evil to my son!"

"That's funny," says Bandiane. "Are not our origins the same? Rachel, the darkness is necessary. If you will simply take my hand... If you will accept the darkness..."

"Stranger!" shouts Vincent. "Begone this instant!"

"Where there is light, there is darkness. The darkness calls to the light, and the light shall call to the darkness again!"

Bandiane begins glowing with power, then disappeared into the mirror.

"A present in celebration!" Bandiane says. "That you should receive my beautiful curse! When my curse is fulfilled, your son will die and destroy the dreaming!"

"By Bandiane's curse..." Ciel thinks. "The Dreaming was destroyed!?"

"The Dreaming's sickness is not a curse!" says Lizzie. "It was destiny! You can't change destiny!"

"Yes..." thinks Seigulde. "However many tragedies occurred one after another, like dominos, we followed our destiny of destruction. I thought everything was wiped out and reborn, but here there is one piece left!"

"At that time," says Bandiane, "all the light was lost. But I know your have the light I seek!"

A light glowed in Ciel' chest.

"Ciel!?" Doll calls.

The light flies into Bandiane's grasp, and Ciel slumps. "Hahaha!"

Ciel begins coughing up blood.

Kaguya runs to him.

"Ciel!"

She starts to hack up blood as well.

"Hahahaha!" says Bandiane. "This is not a dream! You cannot defeat my long, long curse! The Dreaming, will be destroyed now, here! Completely! I finally have it! I will use the soul of the warrior to destroy everything!"

Ciel' soul glows brightly, as Bandiane grows with its power.

"His soul is-!?" gasps Seigulde.

Ciel cries out and falls back, his power gone.

"Ciel!"

"Come on, Ciel!" Lizzie thinks. "If you don't live, Earth and Dreaming won't be saved!"

"I have the power!" says Bandiane. "You are as good as dust! Be destroyed! Now, everything is mine! I have the unbeatable power! Only I am the true ruler!"

"No!" Ciel shouts. He grabs Kaguya's outstretched hand. "Kaguya!"

"Give me strength, Ciel!"

They hold each other and kiss deeply.

"We can't be destroyed here!" Ciel says.

"Right," says Ciel. "We can't give in to this nightmare!"

A sphere of light glows around the two.

Ciel's Soul disappears from Bandiane's hand.

Ciel regains his power as he kisses Kaguya.

"My chest is hot..." Ciel says.

Light shines from Ciel and Kaguya's chests.

"Power is being born, but... I see."

"No, this can't be!" shouts Bandiane.

"Power isn't taken," says Ciel. "It's born. And power isn't born alone. You can't use it alone! I won't lose to anyone! I will show you our power!"

The light shines in his chest as he faces Bandiane.

"Warrior of the Dreaming!?" Bandiane says. "No, damnit!"

Ciel reaches his arms to the sky, as the light shines above him.

The light spreads all around him. The others transformed into their warrior forms.

Four miniature versions of the warriors appear.

"Warrior Mey-Rin!"

"Warrior Lizzie!"

"Warrior Seigulde!"

"Warrior Doll!"

They are held in spheres of light, and float into the hands of the soldiers.

"Ciel!? You...!"

"We are your guardians. You are the warriors of the Dreaming."

"Guardians!? The Warriors of the Dreaming!?"

"The time has come for our power to be complete," says Lizzie.

"Borrow power from the Dreaming," says Mey-Rin.

"Give your power to Ciel!" says Doll.

In the light above Ciel, his sword appears, and the light radiates to it.

"Look!" says Seigulde. "The sword...!"

"The sign of our gathering... That we have always been searching for... The sword...!"

"Everyone!" Ciel shouts. "Give me your power!"

"Send our power to Ciel! Our power, all of it, here!" They shouted.

Ciel transformed into his Warrior form and he was shining with the same light Kaguya had.


	11. Coronation

Kaguya stood in her beautiful kimono as Celestial Maiden of the Dreaming.

She thrusts her arm out, and a glowing sword appears in her hand.

"Our protectors, shining warriors!" she shouts. "Gather your powers!"

Her sword raised in the air and the others weapons gathered around it and joined with it.

The other warriors now in formal clothing watch.

"This is the Maiden's true form!?" thinks Doll.

They all extended their hands and delivered their power to her weapon.

"If truly," thinks Ciel, "If I have power, I give it to you!"

"Ciel!?" the others call.

All their power flows to Kaguya, a ball of light encircling her.

"All our power! Here, now!"

Ciel sends his power.

Kaguya points her sword out and attacks.

Light blasts at Bandiane. She screams as she shrinks from her giant size. Her body mutates, shedding its form as a woman and changing to a small, wrinkled body.

"Ohhh..." she says. "I... I will always be the beautiful Queen Bandiane."

She stretches her hand toward Ciel as she is sucked down.

"Warrior," she says. "Warrior of the Dreaming, shining with intelligence. I shall take your hand... As the true queen... As the ruler of the matchless power..."

Bandiane's spirit is sucked into the large mirror, and she is sealed inside.

The cage holding Kaguya's soul vanishes.

The giant dark moon over London disappears.

The moon begins to move past the sun.

The spiderwebs formed around the city fades away, leaving the streets clean.

The people of the city awaken.

"Huh? What have I been doing...?"

"I feel like I was sleeping..."

They look into the sky at the moon moving out of the path of the sun.

"That's..."

"An eclipse?"

Angeline watches the occurrences through her mirror.

"The surface is returning to normal...!" she says. "The long nightmare of the total solar eclipse... Now, finally, it's passed...!"

"The long, long nightmare..." thinks Kaguya. "Now it's finally over."

xxx

The young Ciel cries as he wanders into his mother's room.

"What's wrong, Ciel?" asks Vincent.

"I can't sleep," he says. "When I close my eyes, a black monster comes after me. Lizzie told me a scary story. That inside the mirror, there lives a horrible black monster, that eats crybabies. Is it true?"

"Ciel. We, everyone, carry a star in our hearts."

"A star?"

"Light and dark are always accompanied by each other. If you're frightened even a little by the dark, and show it your tears, the dark will become great and come after you, and it will swallow the light. Ciel, to resist the spirit of the darkness, always make the star in your heart shine. That is your most precious mission."

Xxx

The cage fades away, leaving the body of Kaguya lying alone on the ground. Her soul joins with her body and she begins to stir.

"Kaguya!?" says Ciel.

He goes to the body.

"Kaguya?"

He kneels and leans toward her.

"Kaguya... Wake up... Please, please..."

A tear drops from he eye as he bends down and kisses her.

"Wake up..."

A light glows from his hands and heals Kaguya.

Kaguya opens her eyes, and sees Ciel looking down at her.

"Ciel...?" she says. "Why... are you crying? My warrior."

"I'm happy," Ciel says, holding his hand to her face. "You woke up, I'm so happy, and tears are coming out."

"That light..." she says. "Your powers have been reborn, my warrior. And that power led me to awaken."

She follows Ciel, running out of the shrine, and she sees the green land of Dreaming, alive once more. The lake sparkles in the sunlight, and flowers bloom all around.

"Kaguya!" says Lizzie.

"Everyone...!" Kaguya says. "Thanks to Ciel, the Dreaming was healed. This weapon is yours."

She handed him a blade.

Ciel holds out her sword at the large mirror, and Kaguya held out her own sword.

They draw the evil from the mirror, and raise it into the sky, where it is destroyed by the light.

They reappear in the park outside Phantomhive Manor, where it all began.

"Please, take care of yourselves," says Kaguya. "I will continue my prayers for your safety in Dreaming. And for you, my warrior Ciel."

"Kaguya," says Ciel.. "I'll see you again, right?"

"Yes, my warrior. I will be in your dreams, and I will eagerly await the day when I can meet you again. Eagerly."

"Kaguya! We will! I'll go to see you again!"

Kaguya stepped into a white mirror and vanished.

"Someday in the future..." thinks Ciel. "When I've become a real warrior... So Kaguya can be my Celestial Maiden."

Tears well in his eyes.

"Well, let's go!" Siegulde and Mey-Rin chorused.

"We'll see Kaguya again for sure." Holly comforted.

"Until then, you can hone your skill as a man, right, Ciel?" Siegulde smirked.

Ciel gave her a look.

"_Right_," he thinks, smiling. _"So my many dreams will come true, for now, even though I'm not yet an adult, I have to work through it!"_

"Amazing," says Ciel aloud. "Even though the battle's over, I feel a warmth in my heart. Just like a star has been born in my heart. So this is the power I have been given."

"Ciel," says Lizzie knowingly. "All of us, everyone, have stars in our hearts."

"Stars?"

"Yes. And that warmth in your heart is a sign that your star is shining."

The others look at Ciel. He said nothing but thought inside his mind.

_"So that my dreams can come true, so I can protect the ones I love, so I can fight, please, star in my heart. Shine your light, and give me strength!"_


End file.
